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must ascertain what has been manipulated (the end result), who or what has
been affected, and how to rid the system or thinking of the manipulation effort.
Then, the target audience must be informed of what has transpired. To say that
a propaganda operation has, for example, “influenced” actions, emotions, and
events is only the first step. Determining the manipulator’s goals and assessing
the damage must be done. Evaluating manipulation damage may be a new
mission for PSYOP personnel in the military or for the US Information Agency
at the national level. Both have personnel who should be trained to deal with
this threat type.
As a result, military staffs and government decision-making agencies
must devote more attention and expertise to identifying, exposing, and
neutralizing manipulation techniques and efforts. This may mean realigning
military staff responsibilities among PSYOP, S3 (operations), and command,
control, communications and intelligence personnel to form manipulation
“watch groups.” Second, it means having the tools to uncover a deception and
assess the resulting manipulation and determine at what levels or in what areas
it has occurred.
Conclusions
In the 1930s, Orson Welles read the story “War of the Worlds” on
public radio. While neither a deception nor disinformation operation, it
produced sheer panic in many parts of the country. The broadcast merely
exploited the average citizen’s logic and prism through which he processed
information and the means through which he received reliable information—the
radio. It was an unintentional manipulation of the populace’s rational thought.
“Yellow journalism” and “jingoism” are also old manipulation devices. One
need only recall William Randolph Hearst’s comment to a newsman about the
quiet in Cuba to understand the power of journalists. Hearst noted that “You do
the reporting and I’ll give you the war.”
Often, the simple reporting of facts or their appearance can have an
effect. For the Soviet Union, the US announcement about its plans to proceed
with a “Star Wars” project produced panic among its military—how could they
keep up with the evil Americans? In a similar manner, panic would spread
among Americans if someone took over the stock market= s computer system
and told us about it! Both events potentially could produce long-term
consequences. The Russians are still living with the effects of military
overspending during the Cold War on systems they did not need. The stock
market example would initially produce a run on funds and probably result in
reduced investor confidence in the system. The stock market example invites a
troubling question as well: If such a problem is detected, is it better to censor
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